| Since M.A.K.Halliday first proposes transitivity at semantic level,its theory and application have attracted more and more attention of linguists both in China and abroad. Systemic-Functional Grammar(SFG) theoretically defines that transitivity is an important semantic system to realize ideational function;it represents what happens in the real world via the lexicogrammar.In the early 1970s when M.A.K.Halliday made a transitivity analysis of William Golding's novel The Inheritor,transitivity approach to discourse analysis began.Then,transitivity analysis has gained more and more attention for decades,especially on literary works.However,news discourse,as a type of public mass media discourse,has aroused more and more linguists' interest only in recent years.From the perspective of the meta-function,adopting descriptive—explanatory research method,this thesis explores transitivity in the stock market report(SMR) texts, namely,the types of processes,participants and circumstantial elements.This thesis is designed to explore ideational function in English & Chinese SMRs through quantitative and qualitative analysis of the transitivity system from the perspective of contrastive analysis.The study shows the realization of ideational function in SMR and the implied factors influencing the distribution of transitivity processes.It also makes a further study on the impact of material,relational and verbal processes on the realization of ideational function and on the distribution.The originality lies in a functional comparison and contrast of SMRs in English and Chinese.At the same time,it is an attempt on the application of Systemic-Functional Grammar into Chinese discourse analysis developed by M.A.K.Halliday in the early 1960s to prove its practicality and usefulness.The author intends to find answers to these questions:1.what types of processes exist in English and Chinese SMRs? What are the ratios of those different process types that appear in such texts in the two languages? 2.In English and Chinese SMRs,are there any shared common features and differences? If any,what are they? 3.How does the transitivity system in English and Chinese SMRs fully realize ideational function? 4. What are those underlying factors influencing the distribution of the transitivity system in English and Chinese SMRs?Through the analysis and statistical calculation of the percentages of different processes in twenty English and Chinese samples(ten in each language) which are selected from Wall Street Journal and Economic Observer,this study finds that,as the same genre of media discourses,English & Chinese SMRs show more similarities than discrepancies.The material,relational and verbal processes make up the majority,and the material process occupies the most prominent position.All of the processes that appear in English & Chinese SMRs fully realize ideational function.At the same time,the distribution is influenced by the genre and the theme of English & Chinese SMRs. English & Chinese SMR is a genre of description and exposition and its purpose is to tell readers the new situation of the stock market.The analysis of SMRs texts with the theory of transitivity has theoretical significance.It incardinates the conception of function of SFG and highlights the representative function of SMR texts;meanwhile,it validates the feasibility of transitivity theory and the universality of its application.With rapid increase of information in the field of stock exchanges,the analysis of transitivity in SMR texts has also its practical significance.It provides a new perspective for the SMR writers to produce the texts and also for readers to unpack the information that SMR texts convey, hence it may establish a new platform for the popularization of SMRs.SMR texts as the verbal realization of writers' ideology,the choice of different transitivity processes, participants and circumstantial elements of the SMR texts could objectively and truly reflect the event of the reports,which contributes to the timeliness and effectiveness of the stock market communication.It is expected that the thesis can raise the readers' awareness of perceiving unconscious viewpoint in the SMR texts so that they can be guided to have deeper cognition of SMRs and penetrate the language itself in order to improve the reading comprehension of English and Chinese stock market reports.Meanwhile,this study is a bridge to connect the two hot issues—Systemic-Functional Grammar and contrastive discourse analysis.It is also hoped that it will facilitate both professionals and laymen in stock markets. |
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